President Felix Tshisekedi has named the head of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) state mining company as the new prime minister, capping a series of political victories over his once-dominant predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
The appointment on Monday of Sama Lukonde Kyenge, the director general of Gecamines and ally of the president, should help Tshisekedi install a more loyal cabinet to push through his agenda.
Former Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, a close confidant of Kabila, resigned from the post on January 28 following a vote of no confidence in the country’s parliament.
It came amid an intensifying power struggle that saw Tshisekedi announcing in December he wanted to break free of a power-sharing deal with Kabila he had entered in the aftermath of a widely disputed election about two years ago.